The United Nations has launched an
electronic publication that can help APTA Business Members interested in bidding on
projects financed by international lending institutions. The online U.N. Development
Business site, www.devbusiness.com, was cited
during the APTA Annual Meeting in October, at the session on Latin American urban transit
projects sponsored by the World Bank.
UNDB appears twice a month in both print and online
versions. It monitors the tenders and contract awards of the World Bank; the
Inter-American Development Bank; the Caribbean, Asian, and African Development Banks; and
U.N. agencies. In total, these banks and institutions have projected loans totaling $230
billion in the five-year period from 1998 to 2002.
Urban and regional transport and transport-related
infrastructure comprise only a fraction of this total, but the contract awards total
hundreds of millions of dollars annually in sectors of concern to APTA's Business Members.
A sophisticated search function available with the online
version allows users to review a list of the most recently posted information, such as
procurement notices, approvals, and contract awards, along with project summaries. The
online version costs $445 a year, the combined print and online versions $695.
The U.N.-sponsored periodical has an ex-clusive
arrangement with all of the international lending institutions for comprehensive access to
their procurement information and does not allow the reproduction and dissemination of its
copyrighted materials. However, UNDB offers subscribers a full refund if a subscription is
canceled within the first 30 days. Subscribers to the online service receive a personal ID
number and a password for accessing the current version, as well as the database on
ongoing and past projects going back to 1996.
Of the standard 32 pages in each issue, only a few on
average contain transport-specific notices; however, these can be extremely valuable to
consulting and manufacturing firms in responding to time-critical requests for proposals
more quickly and effectively.
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